The north Indiana pizzeria, Memories Pizza, that refused to cater a gay wedding has closed indefinitely, while its operators say they have gone into hiding.

The shop drew criticism after its owners said their religious beliefs would not allow them to cater for a same-sex wedding.

Co-owner Crystal O’Connor expressed support for a new Indiana religious objections law, after which the Facebook and Yelp pages for the restaurant were bombarded with negative reviews.

WNDU-TV reports that O'Connor and her family are considering leaving the area, following a claim by her partner Kevin O’Connor that the company had received threatening phone calls and messages on social media.

A coach of a high school golf program was suspended after a Twitter post that mentioned going to Walkerton and burning down the restaurant.

Since the negative reviews began, a GoFundMe page was set up to raise money for the restaurant. It had raised more than $520,000 at the time of writing.

A statement on the page reads: “Religious liberty is under assault in Indiana and that's never been clearer than with the O'Connor family.

“When asked by local press the hypothetical question of whether or not they'd prefer to have their family owned business, Memories Pizza, cater a gay wedding, the owner said no citing their own religious beliefs as the reason.

“Rather than allowing this family to simply have their opinion, which they were asked to give, outraged people grabbed the torches and began a campaign to destroy this small business in small town Indiana.”